Tricket™ - a game similar to Cricket

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a sports game called Tricket™, which is similar to cricket with a set of rules that include three teams, each team having six players and an optional seventh player; a cricket field where Tricket™ is played; at least two umpires; and scoring rules wherein points are given to bowlers and fielders as well as batters.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to sports games played on a cricket field with cricket equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Cricket is played in many variations or formats—Test, One day and Twenty20. Test Cricket is a long and slow game and gradually becoming less popular. “One day” with 50 over matches and Twenty20 Cricket with only 20 over matches have gained popularity. As the games in cricket shrinks the importance of fall of wickets is going down. In “one day” format each side played 50 overs of 6 balls i.e. 300 balls for 10 wickets or about 30 balls per batsman. In Twenty20 format only 20 overs of 6 balls each equates to 12 balls for each batsman to face. Thus fall of wickets has lost its importance to a large extent. One way of correcting this deficiency is reducing the team size. However, in order to maintain the number of players on the field, the game may increase the number of teams to three instead of the normal two teams. However, when this happens, different rules have to be formulated to determine the superiority of one team over the other two. This becomes a challenging problem.

The patent application WO2011066628A1, A VARIATION OF THE GAME OF CRICKET AND CRICKET STUMPS THEREFOR is a modification of the game of Cricket which allows three teams. Referred to as Revolver Cricket, there are many differences between Revolver Cricket and Tricket. Following is a list of a small set of the differences.

-   -   In Tricket whole game is only one innings while in Revolver         Cricket there are two innings. Therefore, in Tricket, one         batsman gets to play only once until he is declared out while in         Revolver Cricket one batsman get to play twice (probably more         than twice)—once in each innings.     -   In Revolver Cricket, One team bats and other teams bowl and         field, once in each innings. In Tricket, the teams bowling and         fielding alternate the overs they bowl.     -   In Revolver Cricket each team gets equal opportunity to bat and         bowl. While in Tricket each team gets unequal opportunity to bat         and bowl. For example, if all five batsmen of team A get out in         very first over being delivered by team C then team B does not         get any opportunity to bowl to team A at all. Therefore,         stronger of team not only scores more runs but also takes away         opportunity to score runs from the other teams. This is very         unique to game of Tricket and is not a feature of Revolver         Cricket.     -   Score with bowling and fielding—Scoring system of Tricket is         unique where runs are scored by bowler and fielders as well as         batsman. In Revolver Cricket, the scoring system is similar to         Indoor Cricket where if batsman is dismissed he loses 3 runs.         The bowler or fielder causing the dismissal is not rewarded in         anyway.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Tricket™ is a game played between three teams consisting of six players each. The game is played in a fashion somewhat similar to cricket, but there are specific methods and rules of play which are specifically devised for Tricket™. Each team bats once while the other two teams bowl and field. The aim of the batting team is to score runs while the aim of the fielding teams is to bowl the batting team out, and collect more runs for themselves. The team with the maximum number of runs wins. In Tricket™, batsmen have more incentives to bat aggressively and tactfully. Bowlers have more incentives to bowl tight and get wickets. The way field is being set and calls are made by the captain of the teams make a huge impact on the outcomes of the game. Depending on the circumstances of the game and their abilities, all teams may not get equal opportunity to bat and bowl. Also depending on the circumstances in the game the interests of the bowling and fielding teams may differ. This makes Tricket™ a tricky game where tact, technique and luck all play big roles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of the die used for selecting team order for the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B illustrates a cutout view of FIG. 1A

FIGS. 2A through 2F illustrate diagrams of player on the field for successive batting orders.

FIG. 3 illustrates the score card used with a hypothetical score for the first embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

in the followed detailed description, the terms “he” and “him” is to be interpreted as meaning “he or she” and “him or her” respectively. Terms not explicitly defined here are given the same interpretation as used in Cricket.

Until noted otherwise below, the following paragraphs refer to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Players and Teams

The first embodiment of Tricket™ is a game played with three teams: Team A, Team B and Team C. Each team is made up of six players. Optionally, there may also be a reserve player called a “seventh man” who may be used, should one of players of the team be injured during play. The seventh player is not allowed to bat, bowl or wicket-keep. He may act as a substitute fielder or to be a runner for a batsman who becomes unable to run. A runner completes the runs while the batsman continues batting. The seventh man may captain the team. The original player is free to return to the game as soon as he has recovered from his injury.

To make sure the rules are upheld throughout the game there are two umpires in place during games. Umpires are responsible for making decisions and notifying the scorers of these decisions. Two umpires are in place on the playing field while there may also be a third umpire off the field who is in charge of video (if any) decisions. This happens when the call is too close for the on-field umpires and they refer it to the third umpire who reviews slow motion video replays to make a decision.

Game Structure

Each team bats once while the other two teams bowl and field. The aim of the batting team is to score runs while the aim of the fielding teams is to bowl the batting team out and collect more runs for themselves. The team with the maximum number of runs wins.

The order of bowling and batting is preferably decided by the roll of a specially designed die as illustrated in FIG. 1. Three letters (e.g. A, B and C) are each placed on two adjacent sides of the die. Each team is assigned a letter (A, B or C) by the match official. These letters match the letters on the die which is rolled to decide the batting and bowling order. The team whose assigned letter is on top (team A in this example) will then bat while the other two teams will bowl and field. The team whose assigned letter is on the bottom of the die (team C) will bowl the first over to team A while the team whose assigned letter was only on sides (team B) will throw the second over. The teams will alternate the bowling thereafter as illustrated in FIGS. 2A through 2F. Once the batting of the first team is finished, team B will bat while team A will bowl its first over and team C will bowl its second over, and then alternate thereafter. After team B is finished batting then team C will bat and team B will bowl the first over and team A will bowl second, and alternate thereafter. Thus the order in which teams play depends entirely on the way the die lands. Other face notations, such as use of colors red, blue and green, or even team names, can replace the letters.

During the game, fourteen players are on the field—two of the batting team hitting the ball with bat; one member of the bowling team throwing the ball towards the batsman; and eleven players (6 of the fielding team, 5 of bowling team) who field the ball. The batting team's innings finishes when all but one of its batsmen are declared out by the umpires or all of the assigned ‘over’ quota for the team is finished. The over is a set of ten ball legally delivered by a single bowler in one direction. The quota is 10 overs. Therefore, each team has a maximum of 10 overs to bat and bowl in the whole game. However, depending on the fall of wickets, all teams may not get an equal opportunity to bowl. Each bowler can bowl only 4 overs in the whole game.

The captain of the team whose bowler is bowling the over arranges the field—where eleven players stand to field the ball. If any player refuses or does not comply with the captain's instruction to field at a certain position, then he can be replaced by a substitute player from his team and his team penalized with 10 runs. There is no restriction on how players on the field can be arranged.

In Tricket™, runs are scored by batting, bowling and fielding. Runs scored by any means carry equal credit towards deciding the winner of the game. Following are the rules for scoring.

Batting runs—For batsmen to score runs they must run to each other's end of the pitch (from one end to the other). In doing this, one run is scored. They may run multiple runs per shot. They can also score runs by hitting the ball to the boundary. Four runs are scored by hitting the ball to the boundary with at least one bump or touch to the ground (hitting a four). If the ball is hit past the boundary on the full (before it hits the ground), this gets the batman six runs (hitting a six), and the runs he score from and up to next legal delivery will also be added to the six runs for him. For example, if a batsman hits a six on the first delivery, and another six on the second delivery and a four on the third delivery, then he will be credited with twelve runs for the first delivery (six plus six scored on the next delivery), Ten runs for the second delivery (six from the first delivery plus four from the next delivery) and four from the third delivery. If the next delivery is a no ball or a wide ball (see below) then any run scored by batman (including the extra run credited to the batting side) along with runs scored from the next legal delivery will be added to the six runs. If a six is hit on the last delivery of the over then batsman gets only six runs. Due to this rule, more than twelve runs can be scored off a single delivery. These changes give extra incentive to batsman to hit ball aggressively and tactfully. The aggressive and tactful game by the batsman creates pressure on the bowler and the field. The batsman is able to score runs without hitting the ball with the bat. Such runs scored by the batsman includes no ball, wide ball, byes and leg byes.

No Ball—A ball can be a no ball for several reasons:

-   -   if the bowler bowls from the wrong place; or     -   if he straightens his elbow during the delivery; or     -   if the bowling is dangerous; or     -   if the ball bounces more than twice or rolls along the ground         before reaching the batsman; or     -   if the fielders are standing in illegal places.         A no ball penalizes the bowler by having him bowl one additional         delivery and adds one run to the batting side.

Wide ball—An umpire calls a ball “wide” if, in his opinion, the batsman did not have a reasonable opportunity to score off the ball. A ball is called wide when the bowler bowls a bouncer that goes over the head of the batsman or travels far from batsman. A wide ball penalizes bowler by having him bowl one additional delivery and adds one run to the batting side.

Bye and Leg Bye—If a ball passes the batsman and runs are scored, they are called byes. If a ball hits the batsman but not the bat and runs are scored, they are called leg-byes.

Bowling and Fielding Runs—for the bowler to score a run he has to get the batsman out (see rules of out) and let the batsman score a minimum number of runs.

For each batsman out, the bowling and fielding teams get 15 runs which are distributed according the role they played in getting the batsman out.

-   -   If the batsman is bowled, leg before wicket, handle the ball, or         hit their wicket, the bowler gets all 15 runs.     -   If the batsman is caught in air then the bowler gets ten runs         and the player that catches gets five runs.     -   If the batsman is stumped then the bowler gets ten runs and the         wicket keeper gets five runs.     -   If the batsman gets run out then the bowler gets one run and the         last two players who touch the ball after it was hit by batsman         and before it hits the wickets get seven runs each. If only one         player touches the ball as in case of a direct hit to the         wickets by a fielder then he gets all 14 runs.     -   If the batsman is given out for obstructing game then the         bowling and fielding teams get seven runs each.

A player frequently may be in more than one role and will get the runs for all the roles that he plays. For example, in case of caught and bowled (where bowler takes the catch also) the bowler gets 10 runs for his role as a bowler and 5 runs for his catch thus getting all 15 runs.

One credit run will be awarded to the player that demonstrated the best fielding in each over. The player eligible for the run should have demonstrated a superior piece of fielding that has not resulted in the fall of the wicket. The captains of fielding teams must register the fielding act with the umpire before the start of the next delivery by showing a “thumbs up” sign or any other decided signal. Each captain can only register two acts at most. The umpire decides which player demonstrated better fielding skill in the four acts registered. Umpires' decisions are final and need to be given at end of each over, before the next over starts.

Two bowlers who allow the batsman to score runs the minimum runs in their over are given credit runs at the end of each teams batting. To be eligible for the credit the over has to be completed; i.e. all ten balls delivered and batsman did not score a boundary. The two bowlers who allow batsmen to score the least number of runs will be credited 10 runs. Possibly, a single bowler may receive credit runs for both overs. And if more than one bowler is eligible for the credit then the credit runs are divided equally between the bowlers and rounded off to the nearest whole number (no fraction runs).

The runs scored by bowling and fielding are unique to Tricket™ and are very important to reward the better bowling and fielding team. This aspect of the game makes the game possible with three teams.

Rules of Out (the Ways the Batsmen can be Given an Out)

When a bowler gets a batsman out, it is said that the bowler gets a “wicket”. Following are the different ways a batsman can be given out:

-   -   Bowled—If the ball is bowled and hits the striking batsman's         wickets, the batsman is given out (as long as at least one bail         is removed by the ball). It does not matter whether the ball has         touched the batsman's bat, gloves, body or any other part of the         batsman. However the ball is not allowed to have touched another         player or umpire before hitting the wickets.     -   Caught—If a batsman hits the ball or touches the ball with his         bat or hand/glove holding the bat then the batsman can be caught         out. If a fielder, wicket keeper or bowler catches the ball on         the full (before it bounces or touches the ground) the batsman         is declared out.     -   Leg Before Wicket (LBW)—If the ball is bowled and it hits the         batsman first without the bat hitting it then an LBW decision         can be considered by the umpire. For declaring the batsman out,         he must first look at some of the factors. The first thing the         umpire needs to decide is would the ball have hit the wickets if         the batsman was not there. If his answer to this is yes and the         ball was not pitched on the leg side of the wicket he can safely         give the batsman out. However if the ball hits the batsman         outside the line of off stump while he was attempting to play a         stroke then he is not out.     -   Stumped—A batsman can be given out when the wicketkeeper puts         down his wicket while he is out of his crease and not attempting         a run (if he is attempting a run it would be a run-out).     -   Run Out—A batsman is out if no part of his bat or body is         grounded behind the popping crease while the ball is in play and         the wicket is fairly put down by the fielding side.     -   Handled The Ball—A batsman can be given out if he willingly         handles the ball with the hand that is not touching the bat         without the consent of the opposition.     -   Hit the Ball Twice—If a batsman hits a ball for second time when         out of crease or for the purpose of protecting his wicket or         preventing catch or run out. Batsman may hit ball twice if at         least one foot is within crease and ball is being hit for second         time for the purpose of scoring more runs and not to prevent a         catch, run out or fall of his wicket. The ability to hit ball         twice with some restrictions will make the batsman play a wider         variety of shots.     -   Obstructing The Field of Play—A batsman is out if he willingly         obstructs the opposition by word or action or is not ready to         play for more than three minutes without approval of the         opposing sides or umpire.

Score keeping—Any way of score keeping can be devised as suits the purpose. A method to collect scores on cards is shown in FIG. 3. A score for each over is collected on a single card and all the cards in the game are tallied at end of the game. Scores of the teams are constantly changing. Teams batting second and third are not chasing a fixed score from first team.

Winner—Side with maximum numbers of runs will be declared the winner, except in event of tie.

Tie—In an event when two or more teams have scored an equal number of runs, then the team with the higher number overhead boundaries (six runs) will win. If it is still a tie and does not resolve, then the team with more credits from dismissal of the batsman will win. If the tie still does not resolve then the team higher number of fours will be considered winner. If it is still a tie and does not resolve, then the team with more credits for ‘lowest run scored in an over’ will win. If the tie still does not resolve then the team with lesser wickets lost will win. If the tie still does not resolve then the team with the higher number of superior fielding acts will be considered winner.

FIGS. 2A through 2F illustrate players from the three teams positioned on the field for successive bowling order and directions. In these figures, U represents umpires. Team A has players A1 through A6, Team B has players B1 through B6, and Team C has players C1 through C6.

Referring to FIG. 2A, Team A bats: Team C bowls first and all odd number overs from X to Y.

Referring to FIG. 2B, Team A bats: Team B bowls second and all even number overs from Y to X.

Referring to FIG. 2C, Team B bats: Team A bowls first and all odd number overs from X to Y.

Referring to FIG. 2D, Team B bats: Team C bowls second and all even number overs from Y to X.

Referring to FIG. 2E, Team C bats: Team B bowls first and all odd number overs from X to Y.

Referring to FIG. 2F, Team C bats: Team A bowls second and all even number overs from Y to X.

FIG. 3 illustrates the score card used in Tricket™ with a hypothetical score. On this card, the circled numbers indicate numbers marked with a circle on an actual paper card. This card indicates that team B is batting. Team C is bowling and Team A is fielding. Team A has already finished their batting innings and are at score 125 for the loss of 5 wickets. Team B batting are at score of 26 runs and has lost one wicket. Team C is yet to bat and is at 35 runs. This is second over of the Team B's innings. Team C's player C1 is bowling the over. This is his third over in the game.

-   -   First ball is delivered to batsman B2 who scores 1 run with         player A1 fielding the ball.     -   Second ball is delivered to Batsman B3 who scores 2 runs with         player C2 fielding the ball. The captain of Team C calls this         fielding action be registered for fielding credit to be awarded         at the end of the over.     -   Third ball is delivered to batsman B3 who scores 1 run with         player A4 fielding the ball.     -   Fourth ball is delivered to batsman B2 who scores 6 runs with         the ball crossing the boundary on the full. Thus, runs of the         next legal delivery will be added to this 6 runs to determine         total score of delivery #4.     -   Fifth ball is delivered to batsman B2 who scores 2 runs with         player C5 fielding the ball. The captain of Team C calls this         fielding action to be registered for fielding credit to be         awarded at end of the over.     -   Sixth ball is delivered to batsman B2 who scores this ball on         the full and is caught by fielder A3. 15 runs for the dismissal         of B2 are divided between the bowler C1 who gets 10 runs and         fielder A3 who gets 5 runs.     -   Batsman B4 comes to bat in place of B2 who just got out.     -   Seventh ball is delivered to batsman B4 who does not score any         runs and player A6 fields the ball. The captain of Team A calls         this fielding action to be registered for fielding credit to be         awarded at end of the over.     -   Eighth ball is delivered to batsman A4 who scores 4 runs by         hitting the ball out of the boundary after it touched the         ground.     -   Ninth ball is delivered to batsman B4. However, bowler oversteps         the bowling line and the umpire declares it an illegal         delivery—No Ball. Batsman B4 hits the ball out of the boundary         and scores 4 runs. Besides getting 4 runs he also gets a 1 run         credit for the illegal delivery. Thereby, batsman B4 scores 5         runs total off delivery #9. Since this was an illegal delivery,         it is shown as a strike-out on the card.     -   Ninth ball is delivered again to batsman B4, who hits the ball         and tries to take a run, Ball is fielded by C5 and he throw it         to the player closest to wickets (or wicket keeper) C6 who then         hits the wickets with the ball. Umpire finds batsman B3 out of         his crease when ball hits the wickets. B3 is declared out. 15         runs for B3's dismissal are divided between bowler C1 and two         fielders C5 and C6 who last touched the ball. Bowler C1 gets 1         run and the fielder C5 and wicketkeeper C6 gets 7 runs each.     -   Batsman B5 replaces B3 who just got dismissed.     -   Tenth ball is delivered to batsman B5 who hits the ball out of         the boundary on the full scoring six runs. However, this is the         last ball of the over so he does not get any bonus runs as         batsman B2 got on delivery #4.

As the over finishes, the umpire awards the best fielding action of the over to C5 for delivery #5 and C5 gets 1 run. Total runs scored in this over by Batting team B are 29, Bowling team C are 26 and fielding team A are 5. Since in this over, the batting team scored at least 1 boundary and also there was one illegal delivery, this over is not eligible for low score credits, which will be awarded at end of Team B's innings. Total scores at end of this over are—Team A—130 for 5, Team B—55 for loss of 3 wickets and Team C—61.

While many novel features of this invention has been shown and described and pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and the details of the game illustrated and in its execution can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

This completes the description of the first embodiment. In alternate embodiments, other options for selecting the order of play may be used. For example; the order of play may be determined by each team blindingly picking a token from an opaque bag, where three tokens colored red, green and blue are placed in the bag.

The detail of the invention, with respect to its preferred embodiment has been described above. However, some other variations, without deviating from the spirit and structure of the game may be possible and are included in the scope of the invention. The field and equipment used in the game are the same as used in Cricket and some of the rules are also similar.

The disclosure presented herein gives multiple embodiments of the present invention. These embodiments are to be considered as only illustrative of the invention and not a limitation of the scope of the present invention. Various permutations, combinations, variations, and extensions of these embodiments are considered to fall within the scope of this invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sports game; said sports game comprising: three teams, each team having six players, and an optional seventh player; each of said teams bats, bowls and fields; a cricket field wherein said sports game is played; at least two cricket bats; a cricket ball; two umpires; and scoring rules wherein points are given to bowlers and fielders as well as batters.
 2. The sports game according to claim 1 wherein eleven players field, one player bowls, and two players bat.
 3. The sports game according to claim 2 wherein bowlers are rewarded points for getting the batsman dismissed, giving out less runs, and said fielders are rewarded for their role in getting the batsman out and on demonstration of superior ability to stop the bowl, said points being rewarded by one of said umpires based on superior fielding at end of each over.
 4. The sports game according to claim 3 wherein more than more than six runs may be scored by said batter on each delivery.
 5. The sports game according to claim 1 wherein said game being adapted for play on a computerized device.
 6. The sports game according to claim 1 wherein the assignment of each to the starting role of batters, bowlers and fielders is determined by a die; said die having three pairs of adjacent faces, each pair assigned to a team.
 7. The sports game according to claim 1 wherein the sports game is comprised of the following rules: each of said teams bats once while said other two of said teams bowls and fields; fourteen players are on the field at a given time wherein: two player of said batting team being positioned to hit said ball with said bat; one member of said bowling team being positioned to throw said ball towards said batsman; six players of said fielding team being positioned to field the ball, and five players of said bowling team being positioned to field said ball; each team has the following overs constraints: each bowler has a maximum 10 overs to bat and bowl in the game, said overs being defined as a set of ten ball legally delivered by a single bowler in one direction; each bowler can bowl only 4 of said overs in the game; said batting teams' innings are finished when one of the following events occur: all but one of said batsmen is declared out by said umpires; all of the assigned said overs quota for said team being finished; batting runs are scored as follows: batsmen score one or more runs when they run to the to each other's end of the pitch (from one end to the other); batsmen additionally score runs by hitting said ball to said boundary as follows: four runs are scored by hitting said ball to the boundary with at least one touch to the ground; if ball is hit past the boundary before it hits the ground, said batman gets six runs, and additionally said runs he score from and up to next legal delivery are added to his score; said bowler is penalized by bowling one additional delivery and adds one run to said batting team if any of the following, defined to be a no ball, occurs: if said bowler bowls from the wrong place; if said bowler straightens his elbow during the delivery; if said bowling is dangerous; if said does at least one of the following: said ball bounces more than twice; said ball rolls along the ground before reaching said batsman; if at least one of said fielders are standing in illegal places; said bowler is penalized by umpire when the bowler bowls a wide ball that goes over the head of said batsman or travels far from reach of said batsman; said penalty is comprised of: having said bowler bowl one additional delivery and adds one run to said batting team; for each batsman out, the bowling and fielding teams get 15 runs which are distributed according the following role they played in getting the batsman out, specifically: if said batsman is bowled, leg before wicket, handle the ball, or hit their wicket then said bowler gets all 15 runs; if said batsman is caught in air then said bowler gets ten runs and said player that catches gets five runs; if said batsman is stumped then bowler gets ten runs and the wicket keeper gets five run wherein said stumped is defined as when said wicketkeeper puts down said wicketkeeper's wicket while said wicketkeeper is out of his crease and not attempting a run (if he is attempting a run it would be a run-out); if batsman gets run out then bowler gets one run and the last two players who touch the ball after it was hit by batsman and before it hits the wickets, get seven runs each; if only one player touches the ball as in case of a direct hit to the wickets by a fielder then he gets all 14 runs; if batsman is given out for obstructing game then the fielding teams get seven runs each a batsman can be given out if one of the following conditions occurs: if the ball is bowled and hits the striking batsman's wickets the batsman is given out providing at least one bail is removed by the ball; however the ball is not allowed to have touched another player or umpire before hitting the wickets if a batsman hits the ball or touches the ball with his bat or hand/glove holding the bat then the batsman can be caught out; if a fielders, wicket keeper or bowler catches the ball on the full (before it bounces or touches the ground) the batsman is declared out; if the ball is bowled and it hits the batsman first without the bat hitting it then a leg before wicket decision can be considered by the umpire; when the wicketkeeper puts down his wicket while he is out of his crease and not attempting a run; batsman is out if no part of his bat or body is grounded behind the popping crease while the ball is in play and the wicket is fairly put down by the fielding side; batsman can be given out if he willingly handles the ball with the hand that is not touching the bat without the consent of the opposition; if a batsman hits a ball for second time when out of crease or for purpose for the purpose of protecting his wicket or preventing catch or run out; batsman may hit ball twice if at least one foot is within crease and ball is being hit for second time for purpose of scoring more runs and not to prevent a catch, run out or fall of his wicket; a batsman is out if he willingly obstructs the opposition by word or action or is not ready to play for more than three minutes without approval of opposing sides or umpire; team with maximum numbers of runs will be declared winner except in event of tie. 